Five quick takes: Pop doesn’t sugarcoat defensive woes

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich didn’t mince words about his team’s defensive struggles in a late collapse Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

During a 106-103 loss to the Bucks, the Spurs allowed the Bucks to shoot 51.8 percent from the field.

It dropped the Spurs to 6-4 for the season, including losses in all four games. In all of them, opposing teams have shot at least 50 percent.

And in a lockout-shortened season where no team has practiced nearly enough, Popovich had a telling comment about his team.

“It’s the worst defensive team we’ve ever had,” Popovich said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

With little practice time available during the rest of the season, Popovich will have to watch his team struggle and hope it improves defensively. It’s going to be a long season for the Spurs coach to watch that play out on an almost nightly basis.

Here are four other quick takes from the loss, which continues San Antonio’s worst start on the road since losing four games to start the 2009-10 season.

If T.J. Ford doesn’t get injured late in the first half with a strained hamstring, I don’t think the Spurs lose this game. His absence forced Popovich to play Gary Neal more at point rather than playing his accustomed shooting guard. It helped set up some of the defensive busts that dogged the Spurs in the second half.

The most consistent Spur in the losses to Oklahoma City and Milwaukee was Kawhi Leonard, who went for 18 and 19 points to set his season scoring high in back-to-back games. And with Ford’s injury, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Leonard get his first career start Wednesday night against Houston. Popovich likely will give his rookie stopper much playing time as they look for a defensive answer against Kevin Martin, who torched the Spurs for 25 points in only 23 minutes in the previous game against them.

How badly did Popovich want to win Tuesday’s game? Tim Duncan (35:50) and Tony Parker (35:56) both played their season high in minutes. Popovich doesn’t like to lean on his veteran players quite as abruptly — especially in the first game of a back-to-back. But with a chance to win and with both playing so well, Popovich gambled and extended their rotations in the second half. It bit him and he’ll have to live with the consequences against the Rockets.

The Spurs are going to need help during Manu Ginobili’s injury to produce more offense as their leading scorer heals. They got big nights from Duncan, Leonard and Parker in the same game for the first time since he was hurt. If that trend continues, it will help mitigate some of the effects of Ginobili’s absence.